Birmingham robbery pair have indefinite jail terms reduced on appeal

Jason Murray and Craig Clarke

Two Birmingham men jailed indefinitely for their parts in a serious robbery plot have had their potentially lifelong sentences overturned on appeal.

Jason Daniel Murray, 30, and Craig Clarke, 31, were each sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for public protection (IPP), terms from which they might never have been freed.

But
top judges at the Court of Appeal in London said the sentences were too
tough and imposed terms which will guarantee the pair’s release.

Murray, of Victoria Road, Stirchley, was given an 18-year sentence, while Clarke, of Farnham Road, Handsworth, was given a term of 17 years.

Murray
had been convicted by a jury of conspiracy to rob, while Clarke admitted the same offence before both were jailed at Worcester Crown Court in December 2011.

Appeal
judge, Lord Justice Moore-Bick, said the pair were part of a wide conspiracy to commit serious robberies around the West Midlands.

In
one raid in April 2010, a bespoke gunmaker’s home in Fiery Hill Road, Barnt Green, was raided and the occupants tied up before 15 valuable firearms were taken.

The prosecution said Murray was recruited as “muscle”, while Clarke played part in an unidentified capacity and was not present at the actual raid.

Clarke was also involved in robberies at a house in Hampton Lane, Solihull, in May 2010, and another at Gayley Farm, Lichfield, a week later. Murray was involved in the latter.

When the pair were originally sentenced, the crown court judge had said he considered they were “dangerous”, a legal definition meaning they are a risk of serious harm.

That
led to the imposition of the open-ended IPP sentences, which keep prisoners in jail indefinitely until they can convince the Parole Board they are safe.

Giving his judgment on their appeals, Lord Justice Moore-Bick said imposing a
sentence with no guarantee of eventual release was “a very grave step”.

Allowing
Murray’s appeal, he said: “The offences committed by the appellant were
undoubtedly very serious, but they were not themselves of the most violent kind, nor did he have a significant history of violence, and the
judge did not explain in any detail why he found the appellant dangerous.

“We do not think there was sufficient basis for the judge’s finding that the appellant was dangerous.”

Turning
to Clarke, he continued: “We are very concerned about the finding of dangerousness, as the applicant’s only previous conviction for an offence of violence was for a robbery committed as long ago as 1998 when
he was only 16 years of age.

“Moreover,
although the applicant, by his plea, admitted having been a party to the conspiracy, there is no evidence that he was actually present at any
of the robberies or played any part in the use of violence.”

A
third Birmingham man, Andrew Aubrey Hawthorne, 38, of Blandford Road, Quinton, lost his bid to overturn his conviction for conspiracy to burgle the Barnt Green house. He is serving a three-year sentence.